Božidar Delić

Božidar Delić (Serbian Cyrillic: Божидар Делић, pronounced [bǒʒidar dě:litɕ]; 20 February 1956 – 23 August 2022) was a Serbian general and politician who served as the vice president of the National Assembly of Serbia from 2007 to 2012 and again from 2 to 23 August 2022.

Not to be confused with Božidar Đelić.

Božidar Delić
Божидар Делић
Delić in 2004
Vice President of the National Assembly
In office
2 August 2022 – 23 August 2022
In office
22 May 2007 – 31 May 2012
Personal details
Born(1956-02-20)20 February 1956
Đakovica, AR Kosovo and Metohija, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia
Died23 August 2022(2022-08-23) (aged 66)
Moscow, Russia
NationalitySerbian
Political party
  • NN—IJS (2022)
  • LJVN (2020–2022)
  • SRS (2011–2020)
  • SNS (2008–2011)
  • SRS (2006–2008)
Other political
affiliations		NADA (2022)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service
RankGeneral
Unit549th Motorized Brigade
Battles/wars

Initially a member of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS), Delić joined the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in 2008 and later returned to SRS in 2011. In 2020, Delić left SRS again and founded Love, Faith, Hope (LJVN) political organization along with Nemanja Šarović. He left LJVN in early 2022 and, shortly after, he was announced as the National Democratic Alternative coalition's ballot carrier for the 2022 Serbian parliamentary election.

Early life and education

Delić was born on 20 February 1956 in Petrovac, a village near Đakovica, in the AR Kosovo and Metohija, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia.[1]

He attended the first four grades of elementary school in Petrovac, and the second four grades in Đakovica. Later he moved to Belgrade, where he graduated from the Military Academy of the Yugoslav Ground Forces and the National Defence School.[2]

Military career

After finishing his studies, he was assigned as an infantry lieutenant in Bileća, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, and worked there at the training center for the training of reserve officers.[3]

Yugoslav Wars

As a major, Delić participated in the Siege of Dubrovnik and remained there from 1991 to 1992.[1] There he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Then, with the consent of the superior command, he volunteered to go fight in Nevesinje, in the Bosnian War and was named Chief of Staff of the Bileća Brigade of the Army of Republika Srpska.[3]

In 1995, he was reassigned to the position of commander of the 549th Motorized Brigade of the Yugoslav Army. He was a commander of this brigade during the Kosovo War and the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.[4][1] His brigade also included a group of Russian volunteers, the most famous of whom were Anatoly Lebed[5] and Albert Andiev.[6] After the signing of the Kumanovo Agreement, the Yugoslav Army had to withdraw from AP Kosovo and Metohija.[3] He spent some time with the brigade in Leskovac, where the demobilization of volunteers, reservists and ranks whose military service ended, was organized. He was later promoted to the rank of one-star general.[7]

Post war military career

During the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević on 5 October 2000, Delić was the commander of the Belgrade Corps of the Yugoslav Army.[8] His units did not intervene during the demonstrations.[2]

From 2002 to 2005, he served in the Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army and the Army of Serbia and Montenegro. He was retired in 2005.[9]

He appeared as a defense witness before the ICTY in the trials of Slobodan Milošević[10] and Vladimir Lazarević.[11]

Political career

Delić was originally a member of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and was elected to the National Assembly under its banner in the 2007 Serbian parliamentary election. Subsequently, he was elected Vice President of the National Assembly. He was re-elected Vice President of the National Assembly following the 2008 parliamentary elections.

Delić in 2008

In September 2008, when there was a split in the Serbian Radical Party, he sided with Tomislav Nikolić and together with him founded the parliamentary club "Go Forward Serbia",[12] and then the Serbian Progressive Party.[13] In December 2010, Delić stated that "there have been disagreements between him and the leadership of the Serbian Progressive Party".[14] In February 2011, he announced that he was leaving the Serbian Progressive Party and returning to the Serbian Radical Party.[15][16]

As a member of SRS, he served as a member of the main board of the party and was re-elected MP in the 2016 parliamentary elections.[17]

After the 2020 parliamentary elections, when the Serbian Radical Party failed to pass the electoral threshold, together with the vice president of the party Nemanja Šarović, he entered into a conflict with the party's long time president Vojislav Šešelj, as a result of which they were expelled from party membership. Shortly after, they founded the Love, Faith, Hope (LJVN) political subject, with Šarović being elected president and Delić vice president.[18] In January 2022, it was announced that Delić had left LJVN and founded his own political group There's no Going Back – Serbia Is Behind.[19]

In February 2022, National Democratic Alternative opposition coalition named Delić as their ballot carrier for the 2022 parliamentary election.[20] Formally, his endorsement was from Bunjevci Citizens of Serbia, although he was not a member of the party.[21] Following his election to the National Assembly after the 2022 election, Delić was elected vice president once again on 1 August.[22]

Death

Delić died of cancer on 23 August 2022, in Moscow, Russia, at the age of 66.[23]

References
  1. "Božidar Delić". Istinomer (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  2. "Božidar Delić". otvoreniparlament.rs. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  3. Janić, Nikola (23 March 2019). "Herojski put 549. mtbr iz Prizrena – Božidar Delić". Koreni (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  4. Armatta, Judith (2010). Twilight of Impunity: The War Crimes Trial of Slobodan Milosevic. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0822391791. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  5. "Srpska delegacija odala počast srpskom i ruskom heroju Lebedu". IN4S (in Serbian). 11 May 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  6. "Ruski div zadužio Srbiju". Vesti online. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  7. Under orders: war crimes in Kosovo. Human Rights Watch. 2001. p. 96. ISBN 9781564322647. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  8. "Uloga vojske u revoluciji – Mitovi 5. oktobra (4) – Nedeljnik Vreme". www.vreme.com (in Serbian). 6 October 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  9. "Odšteta po zakonu? – Društvo – Dnevni list Danas" (in Serbian). 13 January 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  10. Predmet Slobodan Milošević (IT-02-54) – svedok Božidar Delić – 11. jul 2005.
  11. "ULOGA BENZINA U KRETANJU KOSOVSKIH IZBEGLICA". Centar za tranzicijsku pravdu. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  12. Лазић, Александар. "Александар Лазић: Речи и мисли 86". Нова српска политичка мисао (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  13. Srna (28 February 2011). "Delić se vratio radikalima: Nikolićev SNS velika prevara". Nezavisne novine (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  14. "Делић: Има неспоразума између мене и врха СНС". Politika Online. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  15. "Повратак Делић из СНС у СРС". Politika Online. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  16. "Delić opet u radikalskom jatu". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  17. "Narodna skupština Republike Srbije | Saziv od 3. juna 2016". www.parlament.rs. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  18. "Немања Шаровић представио покрет "Љубав, вера, нада"". Politika Online. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  19. "Delić: Ne pada mi na pamet da se kandidujem za predsednika – Politika – Dnevni list Danas" (in Serbian). 31 January 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  20. "General Božidar Delić biće nosilac liste NADA na parlamentarnim izborima". N1 (in Serbian). 7 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  21. "Jovanović kandiduje Božidara Delića za potpredsednika Skupštine, čekaju se Ujedinjeni", Danas, 27 July 2022, accessed 17 August 2022.
  22. "Kosovo War-Era General Elected as Serbian Parliament Official". Balkan Insight. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  23. "Preminuo Božidar Delić". N1 (in Serbian). 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
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